Overview

For the Week 2 activity, you selected a health services organization (HSO) and then developed five research questions to gain a better understanding of the financial condition of your chosen HSO; its budget preparation process; and fiscal planning strategies related to the financial management of the organization. For this assignment, you will provide thorough responses to each question and report your key findings.

Instructions

Using the HSO you identified in the Week 2 activity, use the Strayer Library and other reputable sources to locate publicly available financial information that will provide you with the answers to the five questions you developed in Week 2.

You will then write a three-page paper in which you include each of the following components:

• Develop an introduction to your chosen healthcare organization.
  • The name of the selected organization and background information, such as its location, size, focus, services provided, demographics of patients served, for-profit or nonprofit status, et cetera.
  • Indicate whether the organization has a separate finance or business department and, if so, who is responsible for the department.
  • Any other information that may help explain the chosen organization. For example, is it unique in how its finances are managed? If so, how?
• Develop research-based answers to the five previously created questions.
  • A response to each of the five questions you created in Week 2. This should include specific information pertaining to the chosen healthcare organization's budget preparation process, fiscal planning strategies, and how the financial condition of the organization is routinely monitored and corrective actions are taken when necessary.
• Assess any differences and similarities between what you have learned from the textbook, videos, and other readings with what you have learned in your research.
  • This is the section of the paper where you assess any differences between what you have learned in this course and what is reflected in your research. This is also an opportunity to identify connections between cost and quality and explore the interplay of performance improvement, regulatory compliance, provider relationships, and payors. Keep in mind that the background and context of the organization play a role in how these pieces fit together.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Resources

There are a few ways to access public information on health services organizations.

• Google Operator Search: You can use symbols or specific words in your Google search to make results more precise. For healthcare organizations' finances:
  • If your chosen health services organization has a website of www.communityhospital.org, you would use the following search to look within their website for financials:
    • site:communityhospital.org "financial statements"
    • To narrow your search even further, you could add filetype: to the end of your search to look for specific files. For example, filetype: pdf.
• EMMA: EMMALinks to an external site. (Electronic Municipal Market Access) is a great resource for locating reports on large nonprofit hospitals. Simply use the "browse issuers" at the top, and then click on the state your hospital is located in. From there a populated list of bond issuers within the state appears. Many of them are just the city name, but it is easiest to put the word health in the "Search within this list:" box to narrow it down to bond issuers for hospitals. On the next page in the same search box, you can put the name of your hospital and you will select the most recent result. This will take you to a page with different tabs containing financial information.
• EDGAR Report: All companies are required to fill out periodic EDGAR reports through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This applies to public, for-profit organizations. You can learn more about the reports, how to read them, and how to access them at the SEC's Filings & FormsLinks to an external site..
• GuideStar: GuideStarLinks to an external site. offers a way to look for finances from nonprofit healthcare organizations.

The specific learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Assess the relationship among healthcare costs, quality, performance improvement, regulatory compliance, provider relationships, and payors.